


The air is getting warmer

by HitTheWall



Series: Boy in a box, hurt behind the mask [3]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF, mcyt
Genre: +Tommy but nowadays it's implied, Collective bullying of sap, Cozy times with SBI, Family Dynamics, Gen, He's having a rough time okay?, Hurt Tubbo, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Dream, Philza is trying but being a single father is hard, Tubbo is slightly traumatised, Whump Dream, and almost being attacked by a wolf, by waking up in the box in the forest, chillin' with the boys, he's ok tho, implied panic attack, in the cold, mentioned Skeppy, no beta we die like wilbur, sbi+tubbo, with a boom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28642491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HitTheWall/pseuds/HitTheWall
Summary: Philza, Wilbur, Techno and Tommy find Tubbo and get him to the nearest town. When Phil is sure that the boy is (relatively) fine, he gets into questioning weird circumstances of the meeting...(Tommy is just glad to find a friend and Will and Techno are bullying Phil. Tubbo tries to stay safe)((better read previous stuff in the series, because for some reason I chose this weird format of storytelling))
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Series: Boy in a box, hurt behind the mask [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2044849
Comments: 6
Kudos: 163





	1. Green sprouts are breaking through

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NERD SPOTTED | mcyt](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=NERD+SPOTTED+%7C+mcyt).



> I am a slow writer. Also my mental health is oofing but lol what can we do.
> 
> This series will probably be longer than intended, but I think it's a good thing mostly.
> 
> (If you like this stuff, please comment/leave kudos. It's a great motivator!)
> 
> Also, the photo looks somehow like this:https://twitter.com/TrifflingToil/status/1347317621759340547  
> (shameless art-plug)

Phil sat in the warmth of the town’s inn, winter clothes laying forgotten by the door. He was comfortable and safe and that made him drowsy, like on these nights, when he and his boys went to the forest to get materials but ended up playing in the snow and laughing with their faces red from the play-fighting and the cold. These nights always ended up with hot cocoa and the cracking of fireplace, Phil’s stories and softness of duvets. Familiar. Even nostalgic, at least for Phil. He wanted to soak in this feeling, possibly chat with the boys about nothing and everything. But he couldn’t shake off the concern and confusion, brought to him by their recent discovery. A boy, not older than Tommy. Alone in the woods, cold and scared, hiding in the woods for God knows how long. Phil would never wish upon anyone to get stuck in the box, in the middle of the winter, especially a kid his youngest son’s age.

“Oh, Phil’s doing the face.” Chuckled Wilbur.

“What face, what do you mean?” Tommy’s head poked out from an armchair, where he and the mysterious boy were talking quietly (surprisingly, Tommy tried his best to keep his voice soft. Even more surprising was the fact that he so far succeeded. ).

“The “I am concerned, but have no idea how to address it” face. Come on, Tommy, you should know it best.” Techno answered not lifting his gaze from cleaning his beloved sword, given as a present by Philza a couple of years before, yet remaining in its peak shape, despite constant use.

Phil rolled his eyes, but couldn’t resist the chuckle anyways. Sometimes he thought that they know him a little too well.

“Well, you are correct, somehow. I have questions for our guest. It would be nice if I could pry Tommy from them for a second.”

“Hey, he is my friend! I’m sure he won’t mind me staying and participating in the conversation, showing my quick wits and wisdom. You can join us actually. Right, Tubbo?”

The said boy jumped a little at the nickname, caught off guard by the question, but quickly nodded his head in confirmation.

“Okay then.” Philza, despite the drowsy comfiness of the bed he was half-sitting on, found the strength to lazily get up and move towards the sitting pair. Tubbo in the armchair, cowered in duvets and blankets they practically threatened the local staff to get after running the whole way from the forest with a freezing child in their arms. There was a steaming cup in now pink fingers of the boy. Meanwhile, Tommy was sitting weirdly on the arm of the armchair, his back crooked to be on a semi-same level as the other boy. An empty cap sat in his arms, in between his knees. Despite the posture killing pose he chose to remain in, he looked completely relaxed, a curious glint in his eyes, while Tubbo was small and sheepish in his layers of cloth.

“So… What’s up?” Phil started. He plopped himself on the floor before the boys. “And Tommy, my back hurts just by looking at you.”

“Oh my God, Philza Minecraft, you are such an old man.” Tommy grumbled, but straitened up a little. Phil was satisfied enough.

“Um, thank you for saving me. I probably would’ve been dead without your help.” Tubbo rose his gaze to meet Phil’s eyes. They were tired, but earnest, blue irises reminding Phil of the iced covered lakes. But warmer.

“No need to thank me. As a father of three sons and a responsible adult, I couldn’t just leave you there. I think it’s Tommy the one you should be thanking. ”  
Tubbo nodded and Tommy answered: “Already did, Big man.”

“And about your idiotic outbursts of bravery we will talk later.” Phil could still remember the feeling of dread when he heard Wilbur scream. He made it in time, thank God.

As Tommy tried to argue, annoyed voice of Wilbur rang out from another bed, where Phil’s second son was slowly plucking guitar strings:  
“Yes we will, you gremlin child.”

An irritated high note followed, but then mellowed into a nice flowing melody, quiet and soothing in the background. Phil resisted a yawn.

“How did you end up there? Alone, defenceless in a crate out of all things?” Phil asked in a gentle voice, genuinely concerned for the sickly looking boy.

Tubbo looked, honestly, weak. Even with a lanky frame of Tommy by his side, his cheeks were hollow, eyes sunken with deep, exhausted rings underneath. His movements were sluggish, hands slightly trembling as he accepted the tea Phil made for him. To see a child in this state was heartbreaking.

“I… Well, funny story…” the boy chuckled nervously, hand scratching his pale neck. “I don’t really remember…”

Phil blinked a couple of times, processing the answer. Well, that didn’t sound good at all.

“Like… At all?” Phil tried to keep his voice neutral, not wanting to scare the boy.

“No, some things I remember. I was with my brother. Erm, tall, fair-haired. Has a lot of freckles! Hazel… I think, eyes? Greenish. Really pretty color! Scar on the upper lip, this one was my fault… Ah, a cool coat with fur! Also green. Or he said it was khaki, didn’t he..?”

The boy went quiet for a moment. Philza was amused at how he livened up, describing his sibling. Even Techno and Will seemed to be paying attention now.

“Probably khaki. We were…” Tubbo's mood darkened again. Phil couldn’t help a pang of sadness for the way the boy’ brows knitted in worry. “We were together. I think we were running through to woods? Can’t remember clearly, I had a fever for… Days, probably.” Suddenly, Tubbo paled.

“You alright, big man?” Tommy asked, worryingly studying the face of his newfound friend.

“And now it’s gone…” Tubbo whispered and instantly covered his mouth as if it was burned.

Phil tensed slightly at the act: “What is gone, Tubbo?”

The boy’s eyes widened in fear. He quickly removed his hands from his face and laughed shakily “N-nothing important. Just, just… Ah, a piece of photo.”

Phil watched warily, as the child in front of him fished out a crumpled piece of paper from the chest pocket of his shirt. It looked old and dirty. Red dots mattered its back, further concerning the man.

“Look, it’s me! On the left is, well, should’ve been my brother, but I guess he tore a piece from the photo? I’m not sure why though. It was taken almost two years ago. It says so on the back.” Tubbo handled the photo to Phil. There was the boy, laughing, as someone jokingly propped their arm on the top of his head. The other person was taller, but that was all Phil could figure, before the crumpled edges ended.

“I see.” Phil relaxed again, feeling that this wasn’t the end of it, but deciding not to press the matter further.”That’s a great photo. It’s a shame it ended up in such state.”

Tubbo relaxed visibly, as he carefully handled the piece to Tommy: “Yeah, but I know he had a reason to do that. He must’ve had!”

Phil could only nod and wait for Tommy to return the prized possession of the boy. Tubbo was hiding something, sure. But was that Important? What was Phil even doing, he had to find the child’s brother or other family member, the quicker – the better.

“So, any idea, where your brother went? Maybe your parents know?” Phil wanted to slap himself across the face when he saw the way Tubbo’s face darkened at the last words. Oh no, this was gonna be a disaster.

“Um, I and Clay are orphans. We… Used to be in a foster system. Then we lived with a blacksmith, helped him with stuff. He was somehow like a family, I guess. He is dead now though, so, um, it’s just us now.”

Phil felt a headache building behind his eyes. Of course, he found another orphan. What did the universe want from him, where did he go wrong? Don’t get him wrong, he loved his boys, but sometimes, just sometimes he thought about how he ended up picking random children up and just… Letting them stay.

Tommy was staring at him, wordlessly. Probably somewhere in the same direction thought-wise. Wait, no, the kid had an older brother.

“Are the “Philza instincts” kicking in yet?” Techno mused from the same place he was sitting.

Tubbo blinked, confused: “What is this?”

“You see…” Wilbur huffed. “This man can’t just pass by an orphan. His Philza instinct kicks in and he grabs the victim and permanently adopts them.”

“I keep saying to the man, that orphans are for stabbing, not for keeping. Just look at Tommy.”

“Hey!” Tommy objected high-pitched and offended.

As chaos ensued, Phil could only sit there, laugh at Tommy’s attempts to jump Techno and listen to Tubbo’s earnest laughter. Tomorrow they will come up with a plan. Today it was family time.


	2. First warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, Dream.
> 
> Another piece of art  
> it ain't good, but it exists: https://twitter.com/TrifflingToil/status/1348031936254631936

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I procrastinate on my upcoming exams, but at least i write! good enough, right..?

Dream woke up groggy and somehow already pissed. He was sore all over, head pounding sending painful impulses along his limbs with every breath. His throat was unbelievingly dry and he could taste copper on his tongue. It reminded him of the times he had spent in the forge, sending sparks in the air with every hit, landing on the orange heated metal. This time, however, he couldn’t taste the faint taste of tobacco uncle smoke. His muddy mind couldn’t let go of this one detail for some reason.

Oh, right. Uncle was dead. And… Huh, there was something else there. Was Dream running from something? With…

With who..?

The headache worsened suddenly, making Dream flinch, clutch his temples and loudly curse.

“Oh, hello there.” Someone said to his left. Through irritation and hurt Dream moved his eyes towards the source of the noise. There sat a person. Dream had to forcefully shut his eyes before opening them again just to make sure the person wasn’t a product of his dying brain’s delirium.

The stranger had dark-grey skin and horns, sticking out from the holes made in the crimson hood. His eyes were just… White. No irises, no pupil. Just pure white. Dream remembered his own eyes and tried not to stare.

Well, that was awkward.

“I am sure you are confused. Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to you in a second. But firstly, how are you feeling?”

Dream yet had to pick his head up from the pillow, finding no real strength in him to actually try. This plus the paint and soreness lead him to the conclusion that he was indeed feeling like absolute shit.

“…I’ll live.” He croaked, throat scratchy and dry.

“Right, uh-huh. Let me get you some water and a healing potion. Be right back.” With these words, the strange-looking humanoid made his way somewhere into another room. That left Dream alone with some time to reflect and study his surroundings.

He was in bed. That was nice. It was a good bed with white sheets and a warm duvet. There was a lamp on the bedside table, illuminating the room softly. From the other room, he could hear the fire cracking and the stranger shuffling through, probably dishes or something. Dream heard something clank.

Then everything inside him froze.

What if that was a weapon? A sword, a knife maybe? Why did he feel instantly comfortable here, he didn’t know this guy, the wooden walls of the room were unfamiliar and seemed to be closing on Dream little by little. It was getting too hot and hard to breathe. Where was he? Where was his…

The teen heard footsteps getting closer. He jumped from where he was lying before he could register the movement.

The shadows danced on the menacing walls as the weird man stood before him with a glass of water and a potion (there could be anything there) in the other hand. His face confused, white eyes following Dream’s movements with no fear or caution.

“Hey, I forgot to tell you my name! Don’t worry, I’ll fix that right up. Friends call me Bad, you can call me that too! I promise you I won’t harm you and i just want you to get better, see?” He took a sip from both – the glass and the potion and gulped demonstratively.

Dream thought that it was getting easier to breathe, but he still felt wary, head violently pounding and legs trembling from where he had stood on the bed.

“You see before we moved here, I wanted to be a doctor. I’ve even enrolled into medical school, but… It didn’t work out because of my appearance.” – he softly put the things he brought onto the bedside table, bringing his hands up to show that he was unarmed. “When Sap brought you here, I just couldn’t leave you to suffer alone. You were in a quiet sad shape. Sorry for having to remove your mask though.”

Dream didn’t hear what came next as he realized his gaping black eyes were now uncovered and staring right into ironically bright whites of the other man.

Dream felt exposed and cornered. He tensed, not knowing how to deal with everything happening. Too much and too fast, his head spun with a new force, the pain still hitting him in the head with every frequent heartbeat.

“I think I might be just like you with the eyes and all.” Bad shrugged. “I’ve never seen anything quite like that. Is this the result of post-possession?”

That question hit like a lightning, Dream felt stunned. It must’ve shown on his face, coz the guy continued.

“Mine is. Those things suck, I know how painful the aftermath is. I promise you, there is nothing to be scared of. You are safe here and all I really want is to help. So, erm, put the lamp down, please? And please come down?”

Suddenly, Dream got aware of the makeshift weapon he was tightly clutching in his hand. Ah, so this was the reason the shadows danced on the walls. Made sense, somehow.

Dream felt embarrassed as he lowered the lamp. He was about to return it on its previous place when a wave of fatigue came as a punch in the gut.

His vision darkened, knees gave out, there was a brief feeling of the freefall before the teen hit something warm and soft again. Would that become a tradition for him? To swoon into the stranger’s arms?

Dream hated the idea as he tried to blink pain and fatigue away.

“Oof, dooon’t worry, I got you. Let’s get you into bed.” Dream felt himself being manoeuvred into bed, also hating the way his limbs refused to cooperate.

Someone (Dream presumed it was Bad) has slightly propped his head up. This sensation was followed by the coolness of the water touching the teen’s lips. Dream drank hungrily and soon there was nothing to drink. The headache immediately started to fade away. His vision was clearing up a little, revealing the stranger’s concerned face and an empty glass.

“You gave me a scare there! You are severely dehydrated since you slept for almost four days. This should make you feel better, I’ll get you another in a few minutes. But now I’m gonna give you the potion, okay? Just a little, so it won’t overwhelm your exhausted organism, alright?

Dream nodded the best as he could. He saw and felt the potion bottle connect with his lips, as he drank hungrily again.

The bottle was quickly gone, as Dream slowly became aware of the room again. On the second look, it wasn’t that scary. Quite the opposite, actually. It was cozy and warm in here, random staff marring the floor, from tools to staffed toys, a huge mockingly drawn picture of what Dream presumed was Bad was hanging on the opposite wall. A huge signature, taking half of the painting read “With love to my best bro, Skeppy the Great artist”. Dream wondered why it almost made him smile.

“How are you feeling now?” Bad asked.

“…Better, thank you.” Dream half-whispered.

“Ah, that’s good.”

They sat in a semi-awkward silence for a while, Bad seemed lost in thoughts. Dream let out a sigh and with a sort of uncaring confidence muttered.

“The name is Dream. Thank you for helping me. Sorry for the freakout.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Dream! And it’s alright, I used to do that too, as does Sap and Skeppy sometimes. Sometimes you can’t help the fear getting in charge.” Smiled Bad.

Dream once again felt embarrassment, but Bad was really good at making others comfortable, it seems. Soon they proceeded to sit in comfortable silence, each of them thinking quietly.

“Wait, I remember that Sap guy. Didn’t he get me from the forest..?” Dream asked, unsure. He was trying to trace back his steps from waking up here as far back as he could.

“Yeah! He scared me, actually. I was running around after Skeppy, as he appeared from the woods with an unmoving body in his hands. I’m glad you are getting better now! But Sap shouldn’t have gone that deep into the forest alone…” Bad sighed.

”You are friends? And you keep mentioning someone called “Skeppy”? Do you live near these woods or what?” Dream asked, curious, why that many people were hanging around the woods.

“Yes, Me and Sapnap are almost like brothers! Skeppy is my best friend and we all live here, just in the middle of the forest. Well, at least for now, that is.” Bad started swinging his legs, as he smiled, speaking about his friends.

“I… I see.” Dream mutter, still weirded out by the sheer coincidental nature of their meeting.

Suddenly, somewhere in the house, a door opened, then quickly closed. The following sounds of the footsteps startling Dream into his fight or flight response. Bad, seemingly unconsciously put his hand on Dream’s shoulder and tried to shoosh the rising panic of the other.

“It’s okay, it’s probably just Sap. Skeppy went into town to get more potions yesterday. He has some other business there as well, but he refuses to tell me! He’ll be back tomorrow, he promised. Also, he is the only one that hasn’t seen your face, so you can relax now. I’ here.”

Surprisingly Dream felt himself relax under the touch and the words of reassurance. He wondered why since he has known Bad for barely half an hour or so.

As Dream was thinking that, a snow-covered figure entered the room louder than it should've.

“Talking shit about me?!” Sapnap laughed as he tried to get rid of the snow, which was quickly melting and falling down on the floor, creating small puddles on the wood.

Dream was startled, but not in a bad way, since the pain in his body seemed to ease up a lot, leaving him with just a bit of irritating muscle ache. He eyed another teen with surprise, written all over his face.

“Language!” Dream jumped again, as Bad loudly scoffed.

“Good to see our grumpy guest in good health” Sapnap has removed his coat and was left in a white shirt with black sleeves. There was a fire drawn in the middle of it.

“Yes, thanks for that.” Mumbled Dream. It was weird to just sit there with these strangers just… Being around.

“No problem, but next time you better not faint on me in the depths of the forest. Better not faint at me at all. Actually, scratch that, don’t faint in general, you scared the…” Sapnap looked at Bad sheepishly. “…crap out of me.”

As Bad sat proudly on the bedside chair, seemingly satisfied with the use of vocabulary, Dream asked:

“My mask… Did you get it?”

Sapnap looked sheepish for a second. He left his coat on the ground, as Bad muttered about the mess in his room, and sat on another chair besides the bed Dream haven’t noticed before.

“It… Didn’t really survive the snow, sorry. But I made you a new one out of wood! Check this out!”

From the inner pocket of the shirt, the teen has taken out a slightly misshapen round object. It looked smooth but obviously made by an amateur. There was a crooked face with a big smile painted on the mask, looking no better than the original drawing. Dream couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It looks awful.” He carefully took the thing from other teen’s hands.

“Hey, I worked really hard on that! Don’t you disrespect me and my art like that!” whined dark-haired teen. “Bad, do you think it’s bad too?”

“You did your best and that’s all that matters.” Bad tried to suppress his laugh but was slowly losing his composure, the longer he stared at the dotted eyes of the mask.

“What did I do to deserve such treatment…” Sapnap gasped in mock offence. Dream could see the sparks of joy in the other boy’s eyes.

As Bad and Sapnap continued to laugh and chat loudly, Dream studied the mask again.

Maybe he would be alright in the end.


End file.
